Ove Lundell
| Ove Lundell | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Born | 29 May 1930 Möklinta, Sweden |
| Died | 4 September 2001 (aged 71) Varberg, Sweden |
| Motocross career | |
| Years active | 1958 - 1965 |
| Teams | Monark |
| Wins | 1 |
Ove Vilmer Lundell (29 May 1930 – 4 September 2001) was a Swedish professional motocross racer.[1] He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1958 to 1965.[2] Lundell was one of the top off-road motorcyclists of his era coming from Sweden, a nation that produced many of the sport's first world champions.[1][3]
Motorcycle racing career
Lundell was born in Möklinta outside Sala in the county of Västmanland, Sweden.[4] His career began at the age of fifteen, when he performed at Swedish circuses where he rode Wall of Death carnival sideshows on an old Indian motorcycle.[1][4]
Lundell worked during the 1950s and 1960s as a rider for the Monark factory racing team.[1] Monark was a large Swedish bicycle and motorcycle manufacturer that was also involved in construction and development.[5] Lundell won his first and only motocross world championship race on 30 June, 1963 at the 500cc Russian Grand Prix.[6]
Lundell won 6 individual heat races and 1 Grand Prix victory during his world championship racing career.[2] He was a three-time 500cc Swedish motocross national champion (1955, 1958, 1960) and was named a member of the Swedish Motocross des Nations team 10 times (1956-1965).[1][2] Lundell took part in three Swedish Motocross des Nations victories (1958, 1961, 1962).[2]
Lundell was also successful in a variety other events, such as road racing, enduro, and Snowmobile races.[4] Lundell won Gold Medals at the 1954 and 1956 International Six Days Trial and won the Swedish enduro national championship riding Monark motorcycles.[4][5]
Later life
After retiring from competitive racing Lundell operated a service station and cafe near the Monark factory before returning to work for Monark as the head of their competition department.[5] He was responsible for designing a successful range of 125cc Monark enduro and street-scrambler models.[5]
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Lundell was a highly regarded coach for young Swedish motorcycle riders, based at Anneberg Motocross Track outside Varberg on the Swedish west coast. From the mid-1970s to the early 1980s he worked in Manaus, Brazil helping develop a Monark moped for that country.[4] He returned to Sweden and in 1984, he started racing again, taking part in many National and International vintage racing events with great success.[4] He died of cancer in Varberg in the county of Halland, Sweden.[1][4]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Ove Lundell". vintagemonark.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Ove Lundell career statistics" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ "The History of the Swedes". mxgp.com. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Ove Lundell: Who Was He?" (PDF). classicmx.se. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d Wood, Geoffrey (1 August 1973). "History of Monark". Cycle World. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
- ^ "1963 500cc motocross world championship race results". jmemotocross.fr. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
External links